After all the polite appreciation of Wayne Rooney as a studious pro it is a relief to revel in his re-emergence as a talisman. Two goals here gave him a tally of five from the past three World Cup qualifiers. The first, crucially, reinstated England's lead over Belarus. Rooney was instrumental in sending his country five points clear in Group Six with four successive victories at the start of the programme.

England had trouble concealing the makeshift nature of a defence lacking the injured John Terry and Ashley Cole, but that should also highlight the menace of the team. Despite Fabio Capello's reputation as pragmatist, there is an excitement to England, who have heaped up 14 goals so far in the group. Stern as he so obviously is, his impact as a manager has lain in licensing gifted players to show their verve.

It was brave to promote Theo Walcott to the side, and his inexperience was more obvious in Minsk than it usually is, but the mere knowledge of his pace forces opponents on his flank to hesitate. Capello could also take heart from Steven Gerrard's intermittent impact. From an initial position on the left he had a licence to roam.

Rooney was still at no risk of being eclipsed. If anyone had the semblance of a case to be ranked beside him, it was the person who again let loose the Manchester United attacker. This was Emile Heskey's 50th cap and there can be no jeering at a return of five goals from all those appearances when he makes the rest of the team seem deadly. His commitment was obvious long before he was seen applying an ice pack to his hamstring after giving way to Peter Crouch.

Other footballers, such as Gerrard, are not so much in the ascendant as in recovery, but that too is to be welcomed. Before Rooney went off to allow David Beckham to collect a 107th cap he had put the Liverpool captain through, but after skipping past the goalkeeper, Yuri Zhevnov, Gerrard knocked his finish against the post.

The miscreant need not brood because he was once again a cause of dread to opponents, never more so than at his excellent opener. If Capello could stop fretting over the case history of one individual, there were other matters to occupy him. England did not deal well with the deft response from Belarus and, if anything, the equaliser might have been conjured before the 28th minute.

This line-up was not as close-knit as the one that had ultimately swamped Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb. Although a version of 4-4-2 was employed initially, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry were detailed to cover in front of the centre-backs while Gerrard was at liberty to move away from that nominal station on the left before the interval.

Belarus were powerless at the opener. Rooney excelled to hold the ball before a lay-off to Gerrard and the precise 25-yard shot flew low past the left hand of Zhevnov. It was the midfielder's first competitive goal for his country since the 3-0 defeat of Andorra in March 2007.

The difficulty here for a while was that Belarus made England's setup look fragile. Barry and Lampard could not plug all the gaps and Belarus, with men like Vitaly Kutuzov so poised, had a bout of hope before they were ultimately outclassed.

The near inevitability of an equaliser would have peeved Capello. In the 28th minute teasing work by Igor Stasevich had Wayne Bridge losing his balance before the left-foot cross was delivered. Neither Wes Brown nor Walcott coped with it and Pavel Sitko bowed to head past David James.

Still, this England side is not dependent primarily on resistance. Rooney could have sent England into a 2-0 lead after 26 minutes but, under pressure, he headed Heskey's cross into the side netting. Still, the restoration of his predatory instinct was apparent in the 50th minute. After a throw-in by Bridge the power and, to an extent, speed of Heskey took him free of two markers and Rooney, lingering on the edge of an offside position, tucked in his low ball simply.

He would not stop there. Capello, with a similar switch to that one utilised against Kazakhstan, sent Barry towards the left and had Gerrard and Lampard in the centre. There was a recognition that a faltering Belarus could be dominated. Gerrard, in particular, was free to advance.

After 74 minutes, Bridge played in a ball which Rooney dummied before moving on so that Gerrard could send him clear. Despite the defence's harassment, Rooney, with a feint, converted the chance with lethal technique. With him around, England have cause to believe they can become a fine side.